''TV Party'' was a

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

show in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

that ran from 1978 to 1982.

History

After

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

was a guest on the weekly

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

television show, ''The

Coca Crystal Coca Crystal (December 21, 1947 – March 1, 2016) was an American television personality, anarchist and political activist, connected with 1960s Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture. She was best known for her weekly cable-access variety ...

Show: If I Can’t Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution,'' he went on to create his own show, ''TV Party''. Glenn O'Brien was the host of ''TV Party'';

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild St ...

, the co-founder of the pop band Blondie, was the co-host; and Walter "Doc" Steding was the leader of the TV Party

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

Amos Poe Amos Poe is an American New York City-based director and screenwriter, described by ''The New York Times'' as a "pioneering indie filmmaker". Career Amos Poe is one of the first punk filmmakers and his film '' The Blank Generation'' (1976)� ...

was the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

(Fred Brathwaite) was a sometime cameraman and guest. Bobby Grossman was the staff photographer. Guests on the show included Mick Jones,

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

James Chance James Chance, also known as James White (born James Siegfried, April 20, 1953 – June 18, 2024), was an American saxophonist, keyboard player, and singer. A key figure in no wave, Chance played a combination of improvisational jazz-like musi ...

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s, Nomi immersed himself in the East Villag ...

Charles Rocket Charles Adams Claverie (August 28, 1949 – October 7, 2005), known by stage names Charlie Hamburger, Charlie Kennedy, and Charles Rocket, was an American actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live,'' played the villain Nicholas Andre ...

Elliott Murphy Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer, and journalist. Biography Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island and began playi ...

and

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

. In 2005 Brink Films has re-released some of the best of the 80 plus episodes on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

, as well as a documentary about the TV show. In 2019, public access show ''

The Special Without Brett Davis ''The Special Without Brett Davis'' is a public-access television show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. The show takes the form of an ever-changing live "special" with a new format and performers, and a host portrayed by comedian Brett Davis. ...

'' paid tribute to TV Party, with host Brett Davis portraying O'Brien, alongside performers such as

Ziwe Fumudoh Ziwerekoru "Ziwe" Fumudoh is an American comedian and writer known for her satirical commentary on politics, race relations, and young adulthood. In 2017, she created the YouTube comedy show ''Baited with Ziwe'' and its 2020 Instagram Live itera ...

and Spike Einbinder.

References

External links

TV Party, the DVD website

Blondie, Klaus Nomi, etc. on TV Party
(YouTube clip) * Mick Jones on TV Part
Part 1Part 2
(YouTube clip)
The TV Party Band (Walter Steading and the Dragon People) with David Byrne, 1979
(YouTube clip) 1970s American music television series 1980s American music television series American public access television shows 1978 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub

History

See also

References

External links